I guess the analysts (including myself) weren’t kidding when they observed the Ravens’ new defensive edition to be a lot stronger and faster than that of recent years past.

Or was this just an anomaly? Whatever the reasons, the Cincinnati Bengals laid an egg on their home opener field and the Ravens left town feeling a lot better about themselves—with the exception of having lost RB/Swiss knife talent Danny Woodhead to a serious hamstring injury.

The last time Baltimore won in Cincinnati was in 2011, when the Ravens had Ray Lewis and Ed Reed roaming the defense. The way the Ravens were taking the ball away Sunday, it was reminiscent of how Lewis and Reed changed games.

“It’s the same thing we’ve been saying since the beginning of [offseason workouts],” defensive tackle Brandon Williams said. “We think we have a special group here. This is the start of it.”

Jamison Hensley, Ravens beat reporter for ESPN:

“Baltimore came into this season knowing it has to win with defense — safety Eric Weddle even said so — and the Ravens set the tone for the game and perhaps the season.

“We knew how big this game was for us,” Weddle said. “We’ve been preparing for this game since the first day of training camp — preparing for them and watching film on them. We didn’t care about our opponents in preseason. Everything was tailored for this game, and it showed.”

Sunday’s game marked the first time in the Ravens’ 21-year history that they recorded five sacks and four interceptions in a game. The Ravens defense forced four of those turnovers on its first seven series, and it did so in dramatic fashion. On two drives inside its 10-yard line, Baltimore took the ball away. Linebacker C.J. Mosley leaped for an interception in the end zone, and linebacker Terrell Suggs stripped Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton from behind for a fumble.

“This is a good place start to start,” said Suggs, who finished with two sacks, “but you can’t be satisfied.”